Until Tuesday : a wounded warrior and the golden retriever who saved him / Luis Carlos Montalván.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A heartwarming dog story like no other: Tuesday, a lovable golden retriever, changes a former soldier's life forever.

A highly decorated captain in the U.S. Army, Luis Montalván never backed down from a challenge during his two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home from combat, however, his physical wounds and crippling post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. He wondered if he would ever recover.

Then Luis met Tuesday, a sensitive golden retriever trained to assist the disabled. Tuesday had lived among prisoners and at a home for troubled boys, and he found it difficult to trust in or connect with a human being--until Luis.

Until Tuesday is the story of how two wounded warriors, who had given so much and suffered the consequences, found salvation in each other. It is a story about war and peace, injury and recovery, psychological wounds and spiritual restoration. But more than that, it is a story about the love between a man and dog, and how, together, they healed each other's souls.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Acknowledgments (p. ix)
• Preamble The First Look (p. 1)
• Part I Tuesday
• Chapter 1 Motherly Love (p. 11)
• Chapter 2 Puppy Behind Bars (p. 23)
• Chapter 3 The Lost Boys (p. 37)
• Part II Luis
• Chapter 4 Al-Waleed (p. 49)
• Chapter 5 An American Soldier (p. 64)
• Chapter 6 Anything but Stable (p. 76)
• Chapter 7 Hard Decisions (p. 85)
• Chapter 8 The Thought of Dogs (p. 96)
• Part III Tuesday and Luis
• Chapter 9 The First Choice (p. 105)
• Chapter 10 Company (p. 111)
• Chapter 11 The Right Dog (p. 119)
• Chapter 12 The First Test (p. 129)
• Chapter 13 Thanksgiving (p. 137)
• Chapter 14 Smoked (p. 149)
• Chapter 15 Cats and Dogs (p. 158)
• Chapter 16 Hope and Change (p. 166)
• Chapter 17 The Back of the Bus (p. 172)
• Chapter 18 Tuesday's Handle (p. 183)
• Chapter 19 Tuesday Talks (p. 192)
• Chapter 20 Summer Days (p. 201)
• Chapter 21 Crash and Groom (p. 209)
• Chapter 22 The Little Things (p. 217)
• Chapter 23 For Veterans Everywhere (p. 225)
• Chapter 24 A Quiet Life (p. 237)
• Epilogue Graduation Day (p. 247)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Man's best friend stars in this memoir by an Iraq vet who returns to New York and enlists the help of a golden retriever named Tuesday to help him re-acclimate in a new world marked by a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Montalvan, a former captain of the US Army, is most compelling when zoning in on specifics, especially related to his psychological disorder: "The subway was a horror for my PTSD-addled brain, a nail-gripping, muscle-tensing ride in a claustrophobic tube full of faces my mind compulsively studied for signs of malicious intent." Although provided the assistance of a doctor and therapist, the commute to and from these sessions caused Montalvan immense anxiety filled with hypothetical dangers. Public-speaking engagements similarly were racked with anxiety, and described vividly. Tuesday, a gentle golden retriever, became the perfect remedy for the veteran's neurosis. Though canine assistance and the Iraq war are both major characters, this is a valuable first-person glimpse into how someone with PTSD thinks. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

As troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan with an increasing number of PTSD symptoms, books such as this provide solace and hope. In graphic and wrenching detail, Montalvan describes his devastating combat injuries in Iraq and deep disappointment over how the war was prosecuted. He also shares the parallel story of his service dog, Tuesday. Stories of dogs assisting people are not unusual, but Montalvan's willingness to share his personal struggle makes for a gripping, timely, and poignant tale. He does not mince words as he chronicles the resistance of those who didn't think he was injured enough for an assistance dog and how those incorrect assumptions brought undue harm to him and others like him. A clarion call to all who profess to care about our veterans and an intense reminder of just how high a price they have already paid, Montalvan's mixture of memoir, military history, and pet story results in an urgently important tale.--Mondor, Collee. Copyright 2010 Booklist